Concrete wall form and method of molding concrete walls



July 31, 1951 R. CROUCH 9 CONCRETE WALL FORM AND METHOD OF MOLDING CONCRETE WALLS Filed guns 7, 1946 4 sheets-sheet 1 32 a u I II II II I IIIIIIE:

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a I Invnfor' Lqgan/ECrouch y 1951 I R. CROUCH 2,562,299.

2' CONCRETE WALL FORM AND METHQD OF MOLDING CONCRETE WALLS Fina June 7. 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 25 l i 20 I F N I g V 5 g .1 W 5% 6 9 I I lnv e'nfor ,1 H Logan/R Crouch 225.3" I Q%M Arrorneg July 315-1951 R. CROUCH 2,562,

' CONCRETE WALL FORM AND METHOD OF MOLDING CONCRETE WALLS Fileq Jlinelfh 1946 4 Sheets-Sh'et s' invemm" 1.09am A. Crouch z saaa Y L. R. CROUCH CONCRETE WALL FORM AND METHOD OF MOLDING CONCRETE WALLS .4 sheets-shay;

Filed June '7, 1946 FIG. /3

Imam d2 5 L095 Crag/d Amr Patented July 31, 1 951 CONCRETE WALL FORM AND'METHOD OF MOLDING CONCRETE WALLS Logan R. Crouch, Jackson, Miss. I I Application June 7, 1946, Serial No. 675,211

Claims. (01. 25 -1 31) l My invention relates, generally, to methods of constructing concrete walls and forms for use in the construction of same, but more particularly to wall forms including inflatable core members and methods that utilize the inflatable core members not only as internally positioned concrete backing walls but as means for tamping concrete after it is poured into the form.

- While hollow collapsible forms for use in concrete work are known to the prior art, all of the prior art collapsible forms for use in the pouring of concrete walls, as far as I am aware, have been constructed out of sheet metal. These metal types of collapsible forms are provided with overlapping sheet metal shell members which may be moved from expanded positions into collapsed positions and vice versa. Due to the stiffness of the sheet metal out of which this type of prior art form must be made only a slight movement of'its wall members from'a collapsed position to a fully expanded position is permissible. creteadhering to the outer surface of these slidable form members interferes with the operation of them. Fluid concrete works in between the overlapped layers of the wall members, hardens and sticksthe slidable members to ether.

Inflatable core members, broadly speaking, are

known to the prior art but such devices as are known to the prior art are'not applicable to the worker making'poured concrete Walls.

As far as I am aware, I am the first inventor to'have devised an'infiatable-type of collapsible core member for use in the construction of concrete walls.

An object of my invention is to provide a wall they may be deflated, and withdrawn after the concrete has partially set to-be used again.

Another object ofmy-invention is to provide in wall forms collapsible removable coremembers which are designed to be expanded into contacting positions with portions of surrounding cage reinforcing type members used with the cores in order, to hold. the reinforcing members in correct assembled position until concrete poured into .theform has'had time to'set partially in the embedded reinforcing members.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will appear in my detailed description to follow of an inflatable core member and reinforcing elements that embody my invention which I have shown in my accompanying drawings in connection with other. apparatus which I embody in the carrying out of my invention in a, method of making a concrete wall.

In the drawings; v

Figure 1 is an elevational view of an inflatable core member forming a part of a wall form embodying my invention in equipment usable in the carrying out of my invention in a method of making a concrete wall orthe like.

' Figure 2 is an enlarged broken elevational view of the top portion of the inflatable core member illustrated in Figure 1.- a r Figure 3- is an enlarged broken elevational view of the lower end of the core member illustrated in Figure 1. v

Figure 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the inflatable core member illustrated in Figure 1 taken on line 44 of Figure 1. V

Figure 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view 0 an anchoring foot portion of the inflatable core illustrated in Figure 1.. taken on line 5-5 of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a fractional side elevational view of a preferred assemblage of a prefabricated wall reinforcing cage'in which there is shown installed a series of the inflatable core members illustrated by Figure 1. I

Figure 7 is a fractional top plan view of the preferred assemblage illustrated by Figure 6.

Figure 8 is an elevational view illustrating the assembling of a modified form of wall reinforcing construction to be used with the inflatable core illustrated in Figure 1 in the building of a concrete wall. v

Figure 9 is a plan view of a tying element shown form of wallreinforcing structure.

Figure 11 is a plan view of the structure illustrated by Figure 10.

Figure 12 is an elevational view of a wall reinforcing structure provided with a window receiving box, and

Figure 13 is a broken elevational view of the window box illustrated in Figure 12.

Before beginning the description of my invention in the inflatable core member mentioned in my general description above I will describe the foundation F on which my novel core members and reinforcing members are erected. The foundation F may be afloor foundation or a wall foundation. The foundation F must be provided with a series of wells W, the spacing of which will determine the spacing of the inflatable core members to be described later.

In order to assure more nearly *perfect'alignment of the core members tubular sockets S (sections of iron pipes) are cemented in straight alignment and spaced at proper intervals to receive the cores. The upper ends of the sockets S should extend above the bottom surface of the wells W in order to keep concrete from flowing into the inside of the tubular sockets S. It must be remembered that after the cores "have been used at one position in making a wall they are to be pulled out of the sockets S to be used again in another section of the wall.

The reinforcing elements which become embedded in the finished concrete wall may .be placed in position on the foundation F either before or after the inflatable cores are positioned in the sockets S. The pre-formed type reinforcing cages mentioned in my description may be stacked one upon another, after which, the inflatable :cores may be lowered into position.

The modified form of wall reinforcing construction as illustrated in Figure 8,is constructed after the inflatable cores II] have been set in position.

When the inflatable cores 10 are set in the sockets S their upper ends are tied into correct aligned position by means of slotted fastening straps I I which may be bolted to some convenient frame member such as, the roof girder G shown in Figure 1 of the drawing, said girder G being preferabl rigidly mounted with the base H.

The inflatable core is provided with a centrally positioned rigid spine [2 preferably made out of metal. The lower end of the rigid spine I2 is formed in the shape of a base flange is out of the center of which an anchoring foot [4 is extended. The upper end of the rigid spine 12 is joined to the fastening strap -II by means of a pair of studs I5 and nuts 16.

A head plate I8 is welded onto the upper end of the spine l2. The rigid spine I2 is preferably made cross-shaped in cross-section. Four pairs of aligned spaced guide shells I! are bolted or welded to the spine [2 in the manner shown in Figure 4; The vertically extending slots defined by the adjacent edges of spaced members of the pairs of the guide shells I! constitute guiding slots 2i through which slidable tying vanes 20 joined to the flexible shell 22 are adapted to move. The flexible shell 22 is joined to other members at the bottom of the spine I 2 by its bottom inwardly turned flange portion 23 and joined at its top to head members by its top inwardly turned flange portion 24.

The slidable tying vanes 20 are preferably made out :of wood or aluminum to' make them light but they maybe made out of fabric or out of the same material the flexible shell is made of and made integral with the flexible shell 22. The flexible shell 22 should be made out of rubber or a rubberized fabric. The shell 22 should be both glued to the tying vanes 20 and fastened to the same by flat headed wood screws 25.

The thickened inner edge portions 26 of the slidable tying vanes 20 serve as stops for limiting the outward movements of the tying vanes 20 and consequently the expansion of the flexible shell 22 attached to the tying vanes. The dotted lines in Figure 4 indicate the fully collapsed position of the flexible shell 22.

The bottom end of the flexible shell 22 is attached to a metal anchoring shell 2''! provided with a perforated flange 28. The flexible shell 22 is attached to the anchoring shell 21 by means of the bolts :29, nuts .30, and the Washers 3|, as best seen in Figure 3 of the drawings. The anchoring shell 27 is made in a size to loosely fit in the tubular socket S.

The anchor foot [4 of the rigid spine l2 should flt loosely in the anchoring shell 21. In the assemb-led position of the inflatable core ID the flexible shell 22 is rigidly fastened to the head plate 18 through the means of a double flanged metal collar 32.. The double flanged metal collar 32 is bolted to the head plate I18 by means of bolts .33 and nuts 34. A gasket 35 is interposed between the collar '32 and the head plate 18 to insure an airtight fit. The collar 32 is bolted to the upper end of the flexible shell 2.2 by means of bolts 36, nuts 31, and a perforated clamping ring 38 interposed between the heads of the bolts '36 and the inner surface of the inwardly turned flange portion .24 of the flexible shell :22.

A lifting eye 29 is screwed into the head plate I8 for use in lowering the :core i0 (deflated) into and removing it from the poured concrete wall reinforcement.

An elbow pipe fitting 40 is th-readedly engaged in the head plate It in communication with the interior of the flexible shell 22. A two-way valve 4| is mounted on the outer end of the pipe fittin 40 by means of which compressed air may be delivered to the inside of the flexible shell '22 from the air hose 42 connected to the valve 4|. This same two-way valve 4| may be operated to shut off the pressure stream of air coming from the compressor 43 and at the same time open up an air discharge passage to exhaust the air inside .the flexible shell 22 when it is necessary to remove the core H] from the finished concrete wall. The air hose 42 is connected with one of the valve controlled discharge pipes 41 mounted in the manifold 48. The single illustrated compressor '43 takes care of as many as ten cores In at one time. The compressor 43 is provided with a safety valve 44 which valve includes an air pressure adjusting screw 45.

When the two-way valve 41 is positioned to allow compressed air to :be delivered into the flexible shell 22 the internal air pressure of the core l-U must be controlled by the safety valve M. The pressure adjusting screw 45 is designed to be turned clockwise to increase the air pressure and counterclockwise to decrease the air pressure.

Relatively low air pressure (one pound to ten pounds per square inch) may be used in operating my cores 1-0 since the only work that they have to perform is the work of pressing the poured concrete into position between the outer surface of the expanded flexible shell "22 and the reinforcing structure to become embedded :in the flnished'wall, and the work of holding the reinforcing frame structure 48 in correct alignment. My explanation of the operation of the core land the procedures to be followed will be explained in connection with my reinforcing frame structure illustrated in Figures 6 and '7 of the drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the operations I carry outwith 'my' core member in connection with' the reinforcing frame structure 48 can be carried out also with the modified forms of the reinforcing member illustrated in Figures 8, 10, and 11 of the drawings, and for that matter with other styles of reinforcing members such as pre-fabricated rein-.

'15 section, which may be slipped around the cores;

forcing wall members made C-sh'aped in cross- IU after theyhave been set.

When the modified forms ofreinforcing members illustrated in Figure 10 have been all assembled the concrete must be poured in from the top in the manner known to the prior art. Inmy description to followofmy preferred form "of wall reinforcing frame structure 48 I will explain my novel procedure of pouring a concrete wall, a procedure that produces a more compact wall. As far as I know, my novel procedure in pouring a concrete wall has not been ever before attempted; The novel procedure is made'pos'sible by my preferred form of reinforcing frame structure 48 and by the procedure I follow in fabricating my preferred form of reinforced frame structure48, illustrated in Figur e.6 and Figure '7 of the drawings.

My drawings show the frame structure 48 of my preferred form of reinforced structure provided with vertically extending cells 49; When deflated-the cores II) are looselyfitted in the cells 49'. The frame structure'48 is started with.

a completed reinforcing frame four-walled cage 50. The'cage 50 is comprised of four uprights i joined together by lateral rods 52 and spacing rods'53s The spacing rods 53 determine the thickness of "the poured wall. I contemplate using strips of mesh wire to complete the reinforcing structure. The size mesh to be used will depend on the method employed in forming the wall. The strips of rn'esh 54 needed may be alladded at one time, or added strip by strip during the pouring of the wall as explained further on in this specification.

To start the wall'the four-walled cage 50 is placed over a core In. The core ll] is anchored inthe well W in the foundation F and positioned V by a temporary frame at the top and then inflated. The inflated cores bring into, proper position the four-walled cage 50 and the threesided cages 55 joined to the four-sided cage 50 and to one another by means of the hooks 56 and hold them in proper pouring position to permit the application of the strip of mesh wire 54.

The three-sided cages 55 are made up of four uprights 51', lateral rods 58, spacing rods 53. These three-sided cagesl55 may be placed either before or after additional cores Ill are installed.

ing a wall'after the reinforcing frame structure 48 has been completedI add. stripsof screen can im els wh h f s en 9n; Opposite 1.

of the reinforcing frame fluid concrete C. The type of strips of mesh 54 used has openings sufliciently small to preventneat cement content of the concrete mixture to pact wall than can be produced by the prior art method (the single pouring followed by a tamping operation).

It is to be understood that the step method of making concrete wall explained above may be carried out in the making of these walls where the cores ID are not used as illustrated by Figure 10 of the drawings.

Window openings N (Fig. 12) are formed the wall as the wall is constructed. Sheet metal boxes of the kind illustrated in Fig. 13 are placed into the reinforcing structure 48 to comto remain in the wall they maybe tied with wires,

welded .or bolted to the framework in the proper position and alignment to receive the subse' quently attached window frames. I

These boxes 60 must be of such a measure-i ment in width as to take the same space as would be taken by a cell II] or an even number of cells H]. For example if the cells [0 were spread six inches from center of one to center of the next we could use window boxes 60 that were 18 inches,

in width, 24 inches and other multiples ,of six inches. These boxes should preferably be made out of very light sheet metal (20 gage).

The box 60 is provided with holes 54 in both its top and bottom walls to allow some cores I!) to be placed in wells W in the foundation F in the manner other'cores used in .the making of the wall are mounted. The holes 54 should be, made the same size as the cell openings in the cage members (four-walledcage 50 and threewalled cage 55). dow space will have medial portions removed to accommodate the window box 60.

In the method of making a wall utilizing th core H), the air from the compressor 43 is controlled by the two-way valve 4|. When the, cores l0 haveybeen inflated their flexible shells 22 will be expanded into contacting position with the, in-

ternally extending cage spacers 53 of the rein-3 I forcing structure 48. That is to say, the core H] itself serves as a means for aligning the reinforc ing structure 48 in the horizontal direction. The

pressure maintained on the cage spacers 53' by the flexible shells22 will be sufficient to prevent structure 48 commenc ing at the floor level of the wall. I then fill thespace'between the pairs of strips of mesh 54 with 1 This step by step method also produces a more com- The cells 49 located at the Winaceaeeer.

being poured. Since the outside of the wall carried a predetermined distance outside of the frame 48, the coaction of the spacing rods 53 and 59 holding the spacer 53 against the expanded shells 22 which are spaced away from the aligned centers also aligns the wall.

If desired, all of the strips of mesh 54 needed to make the wall may be fastened in place before any concrete is poured, after which the liquid concrete may be poured from the top of the frame structure 48 to fill the space between the side walls of the same and the expanded core members I and the spaces between the cores H], which is to say, the whole volume of the finished wall. After the concrete C has been poured the cores H) are maintained in an inflated condition until the concrete has taken on its initial setting, a condition in which it is stiff enough to permit the removal of the cores [0.

Before the poured concrete C is allowed to set completely the smooth finishing courses are added to the Wall. This is one of the most important features of my invention in that it permits the formation of a concrete wall wherein.

the finished course is bonded to the main body of the wall before the main body of the wall is permitted to dry. That is to say, the entire wall is finished before any part of the wall is allowed to set completely, resulting in a wall wherein the finished coat will never flake OK.

The procedure described above may be varied in a very novel manner to produce an even better wall than the one resulting from the simple wall pouring operation I have just described. The two-way valve 4| may be operated manually in a manner to introduce air and expel air from the core H! to bring about slow pulsations of the side walls of the flexible shell 22 to produce slow flowing movements in the mass of the poured concrete-that is to say, a tamping operation.

It must be borne in mind that it is one of the purposes in pouring a wall under my method to compel part of the liquid concrete C to pass through the screen mesh 54 to be used singly or in combination with other added cement in the surface finishing operation in the making of the walls.

Another tamping operation that may be carried out when my cores H) are used is accomplished through the means of the air compressor 43 itself. If the two-way valve 4| is positioned to deliver compressed air into the core ID from the compressor 43 the safety valve 44 on the compressor may be set by means of the safety valve adjusting screw 45 to deliver low pressure air into the core Ill. The air pressure will be varied by the running of the compressor 43. A vibration will be set up in the side walls of the flexible shell 22, vibrations that will be transmitted to the mass of poured concrete C. The mass of concrete C will be vibrated into a settled position in the wall and neat cement portions of the concrete C will be caused to flow through the screen mesh 54. The type of tamping operation to be used will depend upon the nature of the job to be handled.

When the wall type reinforcing structure 65, illustrated in Figure 8, is used the vertical reinforcing rod 66 and the lateral rods 6'! are temporarily held in crossing positions by being fastenedat their ends until the screen layer 68 is applied. In applying the screen layer 68 tying wires 69 are used to bind the vertical reinforcing rod 66 to the lateral reinforcing rod at their points of contacts. were extended-through the screen layer 68--be- The ends of the tying wire 81f fore being twisted together inorder to bind the; screen layer 68 to the reinforcing rods. No useful purpose would be served in further descriptions of reinforcing constructions that could be used in connection with cores 10.

Having thus described my invention I claim:

1. In a wall forming construction, an inflat able core member comprising a tubular flexible. shell, said flexible shell joined at its lower end to an anchoring shell adapted to fit releasably in a socket made in a foundation to accommodate the same, an elongated rigidspine element removably mounted in said flexible shell terminating at'itslower end in an anchoring foot adapted tofit releasably in said anchoring shell, said spine pro-.1 vided with a head plate to which the upper end.- of said flexible shell is releasably fastened in anairtight fit, an air-conduit extended through said head plate in communication with the space be tween said spine and said flexible shell, whereby; said flexible shell may be expanded and tying members attached to the inner wall of said flexible shell and said spine adapted to limit-theexpansion'of said shell. r 2. In a wall forming construction, an inflat.

able core member comprising a flexible tubular shell closed at its lower end, a rigid spine element centrally positioned within said flexible,- shell, said flexible shell being joined in an air-, tight manner to said spine at its upper end, anair conduit communicating with the space between said flexible shell and said spine member, a two-Way valve located insaid air conduit adapte ed to control a flow of compressed air into said core and adapted to discharge air from said coredirectly into the atmosphere, said spine-provided with a plurality of radially extending tying vane guides in which are slidably mounted tyingvanes adapted to move, each of saidivanes being at-' tached along its outer edge to said flexible shell;- said vanes provided with stops on their inner edges adapted to limit the expanding movement; of said flexible shell when the same is being. ex-@ panded by compressed air or other fluid intro-.- duced into it through said air conduit.-

3. A member for use in plastic constructionadapted to act as a core for formingan opening and also serve as a brace, said member compris ing an outer inflatable shell of non-rigid materigid spine extending lengthwise insideof said outer shell, an opening for inflating said outer,

shell, connecting elements between-said spine andsaid outer shell, adapted to limit the outward movement of said shell and rendering it rigid with.

said spine when inflated; said member being-provided with extending projections at its end for maintaining said member in a fixed position.

5. The method of constructing a cement wall .containing spaced vertical openings; whichcon-l sists of providing a base upon which the wall may" rest, providing said base with a plurality of spaced socket openings in lineal alignment, providingfa, plurality of expanding core members having an; outer flexible shell-wall element and a vertically: disposed elongated fixed element within the core member, mounting the lower ends of the fixed core elements within the lineal aligned socket openings and bringing the core members into vertical alignment, maintaining the core members in vertical alignment by connecting the upper ends of the fixed elements with a horizontal bracket which is fixed to a beam member rigidly supported by the base, incorporating box-like skeleton frame members around the respective cores, fastening courses of Wire mesh fabric to the 1 filter through the mesh fabric, working this por- 5 tion of the concrete to form a smooth wall surface and then removing the flexible cores prior to complete setting of the concrete.

LOGAN R. CROUCH.

. 10 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 732,535 Firestone June 30, 1903 953,383 Holman M21229, 1910 1,017,876 Landis Feb. 20, 1912 1,105,682 Newerf Aug. 1, 1914 1,272,139 Stanley July 9, 1918 1,570,915 Nose Mar. 2, 1925 1,624,704 Adams Apr. 12, 1927 1,875,131 Pentland Aug. 30, 1932 2,052,818 Freyssinet et a1. Sept. 1, 1936 2,375,148 Terry May 1, 1945 

